Fireflies
by Aya Chyle
Summary: It was Hotaru's 12th birthday and knowing Mikan, she'll probably plan a surprise party for her cold hearted of a best friend. When she suddenly asks Ruka to distract the stoic girl that had been blackmailing him with no mercy, fate began to joke around. It was certainly not a good idea to hang out with the Ice Queen herself even if it's just a day; or so he thought. RukaRu fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

**FIREFLIES**

Written by Aya Chyle

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><p><em>It was Hotaru's 12th birthday and knowing Mikan, she'll probably surprise party for her cold hearted of a best friend. When she suddenly asks Ruka to distract the stoic girl that had been blackmailing him with no mercy, fate began to joke around. It was certainly not a good idea to hang out with the Ice Queen herself even if it's just a day; or so he thought<em>.

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><p>Hotaru's heels made soft sounds as she shuffled her way to her classroom. It was a quiet, breezy Friday morning. The morning air felt refreshing and relaxing on her fair white skin; to the point that she <em>almost<em> didn't want to get up of her cozy bed thirty minutes ago.

Almost.

She stopped on her tracks, facing the wooden doors that'll lead her inside the room. Her perfectly thin eyebrow twitched when she heard the noises-obviously created by her chaotic baka classmates-as her hand slowly reach out for the cold, golden doorknob and twisted it.

Without any second thoughts, she pushed the door open, gaining all of their attention. She caught Mikan's the most.

And she swore she met Ruka's bright blue eyes full of anxiety; and if her unnoticeable droopy eyes wasn't playing around, she saw how his blood drained out from his body when he saw her. She smirked at how scared he was of her. He was even sweating. It's cold, for goodness' sake!

"HOTARUUUUU!"

Her head snapped to the direction where the annoying voice came from; and it all made sense when her eyes stopped at a certain brunette who was sitting beside her seat.

The hyper girl with bouncing, childish-looking pigtails shouted with doubled excitement. The girl stood up with sparkling eyes and started to run to Hotaru's direction with wide open arms. "HOTARU! HOTARU! HOTARU!"

The stoic girl on the other hand,_almost _flinched at her best friend's squeaky and irritating voice. When the cheerful brunette was already five meters away from her, Hotaru grabbed a certain gun behind her back.

"HAPPY BIR-"

**BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!**

"Oww..." Mikan groaned. A lump was forming on her hard-literally-head. She just headbutted the floor while her Hotaru blowed the smoke that came out of her baka gun. It wasn't long when Mikan decided to stand up and dust off the invisible dirt on her red skirt. She turned to face her cold hearted best friend; meeting her blank stare.

"Mou, Hotaru," She said in a hollow tone. "I just wanted to greet you, since it is your day today." She reasoned out, her tears flowing from her eyes anime-style.

Hotaru raised an eyebrow inwardly; but her face still has no trace of any emotion. "What do you mean." She asked monotonously, and it was barely even a question!

Mikan eyes widened in shock. "HOTARU YOU SERIOUSLY-"

"Shout one more time and I swear I'll shove Nogi's white beast inside that big mouth of yours." She said in a cold but threatening tone; cutting off Mikan's loud words.

Mikan sweatdropped, her hands scratching the back of her neck with an appologetical smile etched on her face. "Hehe. Sorry, Hotaru."

Of course this didn't escape from the beloved animal pheromone boy of Class B.

"Hey!" Ruka Nogi stood up from his seat with the white beast on his arms. The two girls, and the whole class, urned to his direction. Hotaru stared at his azure eyes as if daring him to go on; and Ruka was at lost for words, for he had known right at that moment, the genius raven-haired girl won the argument again... even if there wasn't an arguement yet.

_'Damn, why do I always feel like I lost even if nothing happened!'_The blonde boy thought, still planning on how to escape the problem he got hinself into.

"Hey..." he said once again, his classmates' attention still on him. "Hey... Natsume, do you have a crosswise paper?"

Mental facepalm. Note to himself: Do not, I repeat, do not act violent at Hotaru's words for his animal friends if there are a lot of people around.

Koko and his friend snickered, as the class gave him confusing and weird looks. Hotaru fought the urge to roll her eyes at her favorite victim's lame comeback. Natsume, who asleep after all that happened a few minutes ago, woke up as soon as he heard his best friend's call.

"Sure." He said blandly, and got something from his leather bag and placed it down on Ruka's side of the table. "Here. I have a lot."

That did it; Koko laughed so hard that he almost rolled on the floor while his hand was on his stomach and the other hand pointing at them. They all turned to him, giving him warning looks. Unfortunately, the mind reader had forgotten how dangerous Natsume was; especially when the guy _just__ woke up from a nap. _

Natsume's forehead ceased. "Got any problem, Yome?" He asked in a cold, dark tone. Koko tried to calm down, but seeing the oblivious Natsume right now looking like an idiot made him laugh more.

But, well, everything has an ending.

No, Koko wasn't in a tomb yet. A small ball of fire just flashed on a tip of his hair and he started to run around the room like a lunatic, with a grin still visible on his face. "Help! Help! Mayday! Mayday!"

Kitsuneme, the brilliant helpful friend of Koko, just stood there watching him as the fire started to eat some strands of his blonde hair. "This just reminds me of a song I've heard once about a girl on fire." He said, and waved playfully at his friend. "Having fun there, bro?"

"Shut up!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes at the scene. Koko is a real idiot for laughing at Hyuuga like that, not thinking about the consequences he might suffer, until now. Natsume moved his sight to his friend, who was still standing while staring at the mind reader. "Oi, Ruka."

Ruka then looked at Natsume. "H-huh?"

"Wake me up if that baka is already toasted." He said coolly, then puts back his manga on his face with his legs on his table, probably going back to his disturbed sleep.

The blonde boy was gaping at his friend, not knowing what to answer. Hotaru caught a glimpse of this and sighed. "Okay, enough distractions." She said in a low tone, but everyone seemed to stop when they heard her words. "Settle down, bakas." She said while looking at Koko, his hair dripping wet because of Kitsuneme's water jog. She then moved her eyes to Ruka, who was still standing and dumbfounded. She smirked. "You too, Nogi."

Ruka flushed. He suddenly remembered the state he was in and chose to sit quietly. Hotaru turned to her best friend who had a distorted face. She rolled her eyes inwardly at the sight of this._ 'Such a slow poke.'_

"Now, you baka," she said and stared at Mikan. "What were you saying?"

Mikan looked at her with a confused look. "H-huh?"

An awkward silence occured. She stared at her with a glint of amusement and annoyance in her amethyst orbs, though it disappeared as soon as it showed.

She sighed in exhaustion. "What about today."

It took a while for Mikan's poor brain to register it all. And when it did, hey chocolate brown eyes widened. "You really don't know what today is, Hotaru?" She asked, with a worried and surprised tone.

The stoic girl's blood started to boil. Is this girl making her look oblivious or stupid? "I wouldn't know if you don't answer my question properly, would I?" She said with a glint of annoyance in her calm voice.

And Mikan's jaw dropped at her answer. "Hotaru!" She exclaimed, wailing her arms in the air. "It's the 25th of October today!"

She didn't respond as everything processed in her mind. And when it finally did, Mikan's next words felt like a slap of reality:

"It's your birthday today!"

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><p><strong>AN : Hoho, people of the country! This is my first fanfic here, and it's all about Gakuen Alice's bunny boy and ice queen! They're my favorite 'couple', next to NatsuMikan. How I wish they just ended up together since they are cute together.**

**Anyway. Please review! I'm new, Btw. XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**FIREFLIES**

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><p><em>And Mikan's jaw dropped at her answer. "Hotaru!" She exclaimed, wailing her arms in the air. "It's the 25th of October today!" She didn't respond as everything processed in her mind. And when it finally did, Mikan's next words felt like a slap of reality:<em>

_"It's your birthday today!"_

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><p>Hotaru mentally wiped her hand to her face.<p>

How could she not know? Scratch that- how could she forget? There was no sign of aging on her face or her hair yet. She has a calendar. And, she was sure the date of her birth was carved on her brain long ago, before she even entered in this sick academy.

Though, sometimes, she doesn't know if she had been lying to herself all along.

She sighed as she watched the sun shined brightly from above, its rays stretched and touched the green grass through the windows. She could tell. It was still school hours, and it was, unfortunately, their Math class, which almost everyone hates.

Her elbows made their way on the table, her palms catching her chin. She spaced out-which was unlikely of Hotaru Imai-as Jinno continued to babble about integers and Pythagoras. Ruka noticed this, and he gulped as he remembered the incident this morning.

Ruka can't believe it; the genius, sadistic Hotaru Imai actually forgot her own birthday? That messed him up. But that ain't the only reason he was all grumpy.

A memory from this morning suddenly came flooding his mind.

_Everyone was gathered into a big circle when he and Natsume arrived. Some of their classmates were happy and giddy, while some looked somewhat pissed or forced. When this kind of big commotion starts in Class B, they knew who exactly who cause all of it._

_"Ruka-pyon! Natsume!" a certain brunette exclaimed. She stood up for her sitting position and dashed to the two lads, her two pigtails bouncing and her big, chocolate brown eyes twinkling with too much excitement. She had that big, contagious smile on her face. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Ruka-pyon!" _

_Honestly speaking, Ruka almost melted at that smile of hers. He really thinks she's too cute. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura." he returned with a smile._

_While Natsume just stared at her intently. Mikan noticed this right away and turned to him and smiled even more. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Natsume!" she exclaimed with the most cheery tone she could ever produce._

_Ruka swore he saw Natsume's ruby orbs soften. But it disappeared as soon as it showed. Ruka felt that certain twitch on his heart again. Really, he's being corny._

_"Hn." was all Hyuuga's reply. Mikan made a visible pout and turned to Ruka, again._

_Mikan pressed her lips into a thin line. Natsume raised one short eyebrow of his. "What's with the ugly face, polka."_

_"Shut up, you nasty fox!" she said rather loudly and fastly that made her classmates turn to her. Her hand flew at the back of her neck and an apollogetical grin was etched on her face. "Hehe, p-peace?"_

_Sumire rolled her eyes at her, then started babbling again about balloons and cakes and party hats. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to notice her two idols had just arrived. It really shocked everyone, because usually she would jump onto Mikan and strangle the girl for talking to them first in the morning. But now. She seemed so excited and stressed at the same time, so they decided not to tell her and discussed about things and suggested things instead; completely forgetting the newcomers' presence._

_"Woah. That was..." Ruka started, Natsume nodded lightly. "Strange. What's wrong with Shouda and the others today? They look... hectic." _

_Mikan laughed heartily. "Well, if you guys can't remember..." she clasped her hands and her eyes stared dreamily into the air. "It's my Hotaru's birthday today!"_

_Ruka felt his blood drained. He gulped, and turned to Natsume. He met his gaze and stared at each other for a moment; they look like as if they were communicating through their gaze. Mikan coughed, gaining their attention. She raised a brow at the two. "Is there any problem with my best friend's birthday?" she said in an intimidating tone, her arms crossed in front of her chest and her foot tapping the floor._

_"N-nothing, S-sakura!" he exclaimed rather defensively, nd waved his hands in front of her. "I-it's just that-"_

_"Oh, goody!" Mikan exclaimed and grabbed his wrist. "We need something for you to do, then!" she said and smiled; scooting away with Ruka._

"NOGI!"

Ruka almost jumped out from his seat. Koko snickered, who probably heard his thoughts. "Y-yes, Jinno-sensei?"

Jinno rubbed his temple and sighed. His hand began shaking. Did he just spaced out? Hotaru tilted her head sideward and caught a glimpse of Ruka. She smirked.

"Just stand up and answer my question." Jinno said and he stood up. The man asked him and he answered it straightly; even though he was just half-listening to his discussions awhile ago.

He sat down again, and began to space out, _again._ He shook his head. No, not again.

Natsume, who was beside him sleeping, woke up because of the man's angry voice a few minutes ago. "Oi." he called, and Ruka snapped his head to his direction. "What happened?"

The blonde boy smiled and shook his head slightly. "Nothing. Go back to your nap, Natsume. I know you need it."

"Hn." Natsume replied and dropped his manga on his face again.

When he was sure he was already sleeping, he banged his head, carefully to not disturb the class, and started reminiscing again.

_"What?!" he shouted in disagreement. "Why do I have to do that?!"_

_"Because," Mikan started fidgeting the hem of her uniform. "...it's Hotaru's day."_

_Ruka scoffed. "I barely even care! She always took embarrassing pictures from me since our meeting two years ago! Now, you want me to let her take pictures of me on purpose?!"_

_"Since when did you not, Ruka-pyon?"_

_Ruka fell silent. There's 25 minutes left before Hotaru comes, so they are now in Central Town scattered to buy the things needed for their surprise party for her. Mikan suggested to go by groups so they'd be fast in finishing the shopping. Natsume, Ruka, and her were the ones to buy the ice cream._

_"W-well..." Ruka started. "Letting her take pictures of me is different from failing to stop her do it!"_

_Mikan insisted. "Please, Ruka-pyon?" she said and her hands clasped together, her face with a cute pout. "Pretty please?"_

_Ruka sighed and averted his gaze to another direction. He felt his cheeks became warm. "B-but..."_

_He almost jumped when Mikan squatted on the ground, begging him. "Oh, please please please, Ruka-pyon! I'll do anything-"_

_"S-sakura-"_

_"-just to give Hotaru the best birthday today because she never had one-"_

_Mikan was cut off when someone gripped her hand and helped her stand up. It was Natsume. He stared at her coldly. "What the heck are you doing?"_

_The brunette looked up and met his gaze. Natsume was taken aback when he saw his glassy reflection on her big eyes, the crystal-like tears began to form. "Why did you pull me up, you idiot?!"_

_"You were causing a scene, dummy."_

_And they started bickering in the middle of the crowd. Ruka stood there, rooted on the ground. The way Mikan begged him wasn't a joke. She almost cried. But that wasn't the only reason that made him make up a dangerous decision._

_Ruka sighed, his eyes staring at the floor. "Okay."_

_That one word that came out from Ruka's mouth csused the two to look at him. Mikan's eyes grew bigger. "C-come again?"_

_Natsume remained silent and watched the scene. "I said, I agree." his friend said, making the brunette squeal in happiness._

_"Oh my gosh, thank you! Thank you so much, Ruka-pyon!" she exclaimed and gave him a bear hug._

_Ruka tapped her back awkwardly while bushing madly. "Y-your welcome, S-sakura." he said and his azure eyes met ruby ones. Natsume smirked at him as he puts his hands in his pockets. "Let's go?"_

_Mikan pulled awsy from the hug with wide eyes. "Oh no! I forgot something!" she exclaimed, her face distorted. Ruka chuckled while Natsume raised a brow._

_She glanced at Natsume and git the balloons from his hands and gave it to Ruka. "Here, Ruka-pyon. Please put these in your room for awhile. We'll get it later." she said and grabbed Natsume's wrist. "And could I borrow your friend for a while? I need a chaperone." she asked innocently._

_Ruka laughed at Natsune's shocked face and nodded. "Sure. Enjoy."_

_Mikan smiled and waved as she and Natsume scooted away. "Thanks!"_

"Oi." a stern voice echoed through Ruka's ears that snapped him out of his thoughts.

"N-natsume!" he exclaimed and sat straight. He scanned the surroundings and noticed the room was empty. He looked at Natsume. "W-where's everyone?"

The raven haired boy looked at him with amusement. "They left. It's already dismissal," he said. " You just slept four hours straight and missed discussions. Lucky no one noticed." he added.

Ruka blushed. "R-really?" he asked, in which Natsume returned wih a sigh.

He puts his hands in his pockets and stared at his blonde friend. "Shall we get going? I believe we have some things to do." he smirked. "You don't wanna miss your date with Imai, do you?"

The blonde boy flushed furiously. "It's not a date! I'm just..."

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Whatever." he said and started to walk away. Ruka stood up. "Hey, wait up Natsume!"

And the two went out to find the gang and the stoic birthday girl.


End file.
